HELPSOUGHTINSEARCHFORSUSPECTS

Police and school officials have enlisted local parents in their search for three men who attempted to kidnap a Lawrence girl Wednesday morning as she was walking to Kennedy School.

A secretary at the school this morning said descriptions of the suspects were sent home Wednesday with Kennedy students, who also were told about the attempted kidnapping in a public address announcement.

Police reported that the girl was walking about 8 a.m. near 21st and Harper when two white men and a black man in a yellowish-orange, older-model pickup truck drove up to her.

The driver got out of the truck and grabbed the girl, placed his hand over her mouth and threatened her. The girl managed to escape and run to school, where she reported the incident.

Chris Mulvenon, police spokesman, said police early Wednesday believed the attempt took place near 19th and Haskell but later were informed it happened at 21st and Harper.

Mulvenon said the man who approached the girl was described as in his mid- to late-20s, with shaggy blond hair and a short beard. He was wearing a blue baseball cap, a blue sweatshirt and blue jeans.

Mulvenon said police have received no reports of similar incidents. Nonetheless, he urged parents and students to take extra caution.

Students, he said, should follow the same, direct route to and from school. Students whose parents are home after school should check in when they get home. Mulvenon said parents with latch-key children should arrange for their kids to check in with a neighbor or a block parent when they come home from school.